Fantasy game system and method for player selection and scoring

ABSTRACT

A first list of available players is provided to each individual user who then selects a first fantasy lineup, where selections by another individual user does not preclude other individual users from also selecting the same player. First fantasy lineups are received from each individual user, the fantasy lineups comprising one or more players selected from the first list of available players. Each individual user may provide a replacement lineup prior to the end of a game. A subsequent list of available players is provided to each user and does not include players from the first fantasy lineup. Subsequent fantasy lineups from each individual user are received comprising only players selected from the subsequent list of available players. None of the players of the first fantasy lineup for an individual user is included in any subsequent fantasy lineup of the individual user.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/892,355 filed May 13, 2013 and entitled “Fantasy Game System andMethod for Player Selection and Scoring”, which is a continuation ofU.S. application Ser. No. 12/965,578 filed Dec. 10, 2010, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,460,078 and entitled “Fantasy Game System and Method for PlayerSelection and Scoring”. All of the foregoing patent applications andpatents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

This application relates generally to fantasy sports games. Morespecifically, this application relates generally to fantasy sports gamesand methods whereby the fantasy game is playable over the course of apredetermined finite period such as a real-life season, playoff ortournament.

SUMMARY

Fantasy sports, and fantasy football in particular, has blossomed into amultibillion dollar industry. Fantasy sports games typically involvecreating a league of friends, family and/or acquaintances where eachperson acts as a “general manager” of a respective fantasy team. Eachfantasy team is populated with several fantasy players where eachfantasy player corresponds to an individual, real-life athleteparticipating in a real-life sports game or event. The statisticsgenerated by the real-life sports players are converted to fantasypoints whereby the points are assigned to the fantasy team(s) owningeach particular player. These fantasy points may then be used tocalculate team scores for each fantasy team. In most instances, the teamwith the most fantasy points wins the fantasy contest.

Despite the existence of football or other sports playoffs (e.g., NFLplayoffs) or tournaments such as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, mostfantasy seasons are concluded well before the real-life playoffs. Thus,for several weeks of highly entertaining and competitive games andsporting events at the most important time of the sports season, veryfew fantasy games are played. Therefore, there exists a significant needfor an improved fantasy game that is playable over the course of apredetermined time period such as that of playoffs (e.g., footballplayoffs) or during a tournament such as NCAA Basketball Tournament orthe FIFA World Cup. Such a fantasy game may be applicable to anysuitable event with a predetermined time period of games and not limitedsolely to football.

This application discloses a fantasy sports game device comprising: amemory configured to store a set of instructions; and a processorconfigured to execute the set of instructions. The set of instructionscause the processor to provide a first list of available players to eachindividual user who selects a first fantasy lineup, where selections byanother individual user does not preclude other individual users fromalso selecting the same player. First fantasy lineups are received fromeach individual user, the fantasy lineups comprising one or more playersselected from the first list of available players. Each individual usermay provide a replacement lineup prior to the end of a game. Asubsequent list of available players is provided to each user, notincluding players from the first fantasy lineup of the individual user.Subsequent fantasy lineups from each individual user are receivedcomprising only players selected from the subsequent list of availableplayers. None of the players of the first fantasy lineup for anindividual user is included in any subsequent fantasy lineup of theindividual user.

This application also discloses a fantasy sports game system comprising:one or more participant terminals operable to act as a client on anetwork; and a processor configured to execute the set of instructions.The set of instructions cause the processor to provide a first list ofavailable players to each user, where each user selects a first fantasylineup, and selection of a player by a first user does not preclude asecond user from also selecting the player. The system receives thefirst fantasy lineup for each user for a fantasy team from each user,the fantasy lineup comprising one or more players selected from thefirst list of available players, and each user may bench a selectedplayer of another user's fantasy team. The system provides a subsequentlist of available players to each user, wherein the subsequent list ofavailable players for an individual user does not include players fromthe received first fantasy lineup of the individual user. Subsequentfantasy lineups are received by the system for the fantasy team fromeach user, such fantasy lineups comprising one or more players selectedfrom the subsequent list of available players, where none of the playersof the first fantasy lineup for the individual user is included in anysubsequent fantasy lineup of the individual user.

This application further discloses a fantasy sports game systemcomprising a memory configured to store a set of instructions; and aprocessor configured to execute the set of instructions. The set ofinstructions cause the processor to provide a first list of availableplayers to each user, where each user selects a first fantasy lineup,and selection of a player by a first user does not preclude a seconduser from also selecting the player. The system receives the firstfantasy lineup for each user for a fantasy team from each user, thefantasy lineup comprising one or more players selected from the firstlist of available players, and receives statistical information relatingto each one of the players. A player point total is calculated for eachplayer based at least in part on the received statistical information,such that each user failing to select a player necessary to complete alineup for a round is assigned a point total of zero for such player.The system provides a subsequent list of available players to each user,which does not include players from the received first fantasy lineup ofthe individual user. The system receives a subsequent fantasy lineup forthe fantasy team from each user, the fantasy lineup comprising one ormore players selected from the subsequent list of available players.None of the players of the first fantasy lineup for the individual useris included in any subsequent fantasy lineup of the individual user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings, when considered in connection with the followingdescription, are presented for the purpose of facilitating anunderstanding of the subject matter sought to be protected.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a fantasy sports network of a firstembodiment of the fantasy football system disclosed herein; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an illustrative process for playing afantasy football game.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a fantasy sports game system 100 is depicted.The system 100 may include a server 110, a statistical informationsource 120, a communications network 130, and one or more participantterminals 140 a-140 n (collectively 140). The different elements andcomponents of the system 100 may communicate with one another usingwireless communications or hardwired connections, such as fiber optics,cable, DSL, telephone lines, and other similar connections.

The communications network 130 may include any number of networkscapable of providing communications between the server 110, statisticalinformation source 120, and terminals 140. For example, thecommunications network may be one or more, or any combination of,wireless networks, data or packet networks, publicly switched telephonenetworks (PSTN), etc.

The participant terminals 140 may include any suitable device operableto act as a client on a network. Illustrative terminals 140 include, butare not limited to, personal computers, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, servers, or any suitable telecommunications device,including, but not limited to, VoIP telephones, smart telephones orwireless devices, such as cellular telephones, personal digitalassistants (PDA), communications enabled mp3 players, etc. Each terminal140 may be configured to transmit and/or receive information to and/orfrom the server 110, the statistical information source 120 and/or otherparticipant terminals 140.

The statistical information source 120 may be any suitable source ofstatistical information relevant to the fantasy game played. Thestatistical information source 120 may be a statistical repositorymaintained by a sports league, for example, the National Football League(NFL), National Collegiate Athletic Association, FIFA World Cup etc.Alternatively, the statistical information source 120 may be athird-party source, such as a news website STATS, Inc. headquartered inNorthbrook, Ill., or any other suitable source of statisticalinformation. In the illustrative embodiment, the statistical informationsource 120 includes statistical information related to one or morereal-life athletes participating in one or more real-life games;however, it will be appreciated that the statistical information source120 may include statistical information related to real-life and/orvirtual athletes as well as any real-life and/or virtual athletic event.

The server 110 may be any server, computer or device configured toprocess commands from the participant terminals 140. For example, theserver 110 may be operable to receive a starting lineup for one or morefantasy teams from one or more terminals 140. Each lineup may correspondto a particular fantasy team whereby each fantasy team competes with oneor more other fantasy teams in a fantasy competition. The fantasycompetition may be a fantasy league, a single fantasy game, a weeklyfantasy contest, a fantasy tournament, or any other suitable fantasysports competition. In one embodiment, a single fantasy team may beregistered with a plurality of leagues whereby the team's performance isreflected in each league, thus allowing a user to participate inmultiple leagues without requiring additional time or effort to choosenew teams. For example, it is contemplated by the inventors that a userwould be able to visit just one website, pick a team, pick the leaguesit would like to join (where the leagues would all be played based onthe method of play presented herein), and then simply click one buttonfor that team to be played in the various leagues it has selected. Thissame concept would be available for each subsequent game or round. Thiswould allow the user to easily participate in variety of leagues, whereeach league may be comprised of different individuals that may or not bedirectly related to the user, for example: office co-workers, family,friends, classmates, or different leagues of random individuals.

Each fantasy lineup may include one or more fantasy players associatedtherewith. Each player may be associated with a real-life athleteparticipating in a real-life athletic event, such as a football game.However, it will be appreciated that each player may be associated withreal-life and/or virtual athletes as well as any real-life and/orvirtual athletic event. In one embodiment, at least one fantasy playeris associated with an athlete playing at least one position on anoffensive squad of a football team. Suitable offensive squad positionsmay include, without limitation, one or more quarterbacks, runningbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, split ends, fullbacks, tailbacks, andoffensive linemen. Also, in one embodiment, at least one fantasy playeris associated with a defensive and/or special teams squad of a footballteams and/or an athlete playing at least one position on a defensivesquad of a football team. Suitable defensive squad positions mayinclude, without limitation, one or more safeties, cornerbacks,linebackers, defensive tackles, defensive ends, and defensive linemen.

The server 110 may also be configured to receive statistical informationfrom the statistical information source 120, calculate player pointtotals therewith, and calculate a fantasy team score for each fantasyteam. The server 110 may receive statistical information for eachfantasy player from the statistical information source 120. The receivedstatistical information may include, without limitation, yardageobtained by at least one of the fantasy players involved in at least onefootball game, touchdowns scored, etc. Suitable yardage may include,without limitation, passing yardage, rushing yardage, receiving yardage,special teams yardage, total team yardage and return yardage. Returnyardage may include, without limitation, yardage obtained during a kickor punt return or yardage obtained by a defensive player after aturnover.

Once the server 110 has received the relevant statistical informationfrom the statistical information source 120, the server 110 maycalculate a player point total for each fantasy player based on thestatistical information. In one embodiment, for each fantasy player,every 25 yards passing is assigned 1-point, every 10 yards rushing orreceiving is assigned 1-point, and every touchdown is assigned 6-points.It will be appreciated that scoring systems employing passing yardage,rushing yardage, receiving yardage, touchdowns, turnovers, etc. are wellknown in the art and the present system is not limited to the forgoingillustrative scoring system. In addition, it will be appreciated that abonus scoring system may be employed. In one embodiment, a bonus pointsystem may be based on a formula and predetermined percentage allocationamong predetermined strategic categories that may show managers to beespecially keen at making smart decisions or selecting a quality fantasylineup. For example, the formula may consistent of a weighted average offactors. Illustrative factors may include, without limitation: pickingplayers from the team that loses (e.g., with a possibility of greaterpoints for picking an upset according to suitable betting odds or anyother suitable determination), actual accrued points by players,positional scoring (e.g., reward an unforeseen high scoring game from aposition or player that does not general score a lot of points based onhistorical league position scores (e.g., if more than two standarddeviations from average for the position or any other suitabledetermination)), boldness in player choice (e.g., choosing a playerfurther down a depth chart of a given team and choosing said playerearly on in the playoffs or the like), etc. Also, an inverse of theforgoing may be applied whereby negative points may be accrued for poordecisions. It will be appreciated that any other suitable bonus pointsystem may be employed and remain within the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, and without limitation, players being penalizedduring an event may receive negative points for such penalties, playersagainst whom a penalty was committed may receive bonus points, playersbreaking pre-existing league records may receive bonus points, playersscoring later into a playoff or later in the fantasy contest may receivebonus points for such scoring, etc. Additional bonus scoring systemswill be apparent to those skilled in the art and are expresslycontemplated herein and the present disclosure is in no way limited tothe illustrative bonus scoring systems.

As will be discussed further below, the server may be configured toreceive fantasy lineups for one or more fantasy teams, wherein eachfantasy lineup includes one or more players. The fantasy lineup for eachteam will be changed at predetermined intervals (e.g., weekly) whereinplayers previously used are not eligible for re-use in a subsequentlineup. In one embodiment, a winner is declared at the end of eachpredetermined interval. In an alternative embodiment, the point totalsfor a plurality of pre-determined intervals are added together wherebyteam having the greatest point total is deemed the winner. By way ofillustration and without any limitation, a fantasy game may be playedover the course of an NFL playoff period whereby each fantasy teamsubmits a new fantasy lineup for each round of the playoffs. Playersused for any given round (e.g., wild-card round) are ineligible for usein any subsequent round (e.g., divisional round, conferencechampionship, Super Bowl, etc.). The team having the most points at theend of the NFL playoffs may be deemed the winner. It will, however, beappreciated that the present disclosure is not limited in any way to theNFL and/or the NFL playoffs and has applicability to playoffs ortournaments of other sports.

In one embodiment, the server 110 may permit a user to provide areplacement lineup comprising at least one replacement player after alineup is received and prior to the receipt of statistical information.In one embodiment, one or more players from the lineup are replaced byone or more replacement players during a real-time sporting event uponwhich the collected statistics and fantasy points are based. In oneembodiment, the statistics of the players from the original lineup areonly considered for the purposes of determining a fantasy score up untila corresponding replacement player is received by the server and anystatistics accrued by the original player after receipt of thereplacement player may then be ignored when calculating a fantasy score.The statistics of the replacement player prior to receipt of thereplacement player by the server may be ignored and only statisticsobtained after receipt of the replacement player by the serverconsidered for the purposes of calculating a score. For example, andwithout limitation, a user includes a first quarterback in a lineup. Theuser provides a replacement quarterback to the server after one quarterof play by the first quarterback. The replacement quarterback completesat least three quarters of a football game. In calculating a score, onlythe statistics corresponding to the one quarter of play by the firstquarterback are considered. Likewise, only statistics corresponding tothe three quarters of play by the replacement quarterback are consideredin calculating a score, and any additional statistics by the replacementquarterback are ignored. It will be appreciated that the quarters ofplay (or any other suitable time demarcation) need not be runningconcurrently or consecutively. For example, the first quarterback mayplay the first quarter of the football game and the replacementquarterback may complete any three quarters for consideration (e.g., thefirst three quarters, the final three quarters, etc.). The choice ofwhich time period(s) are considered for the replacement player may bepredetermined in the game set-up or selected by a user. Also, the firstquarterback may be competing in an earlier game and the replacementquarterback playing in a later football game (either later in the sameday as the first game, a day after the first game, etc.). It will beappreciated that the forgoing is only illustrative in nature and anysystem permitting a user to change players during a real-time event isexpressly considered. Further, the player from the original lineup aswell as the replacement player may be ineligible for use in a subsequentlineup by the user.

In the illustrative embodiment, the server 110 includes a memory and aprocessor to accommodate the forgoing. However, it will be appreciatedthat the forgoing may be implemented in hardware, software, or asuitable combination of hardware and software, and which can be one ormore software systems operating on a general purpose server platform. Asused herein, a hardware system can include discrete semiconductordevices, an application-specific integrated circuit, a fieldprogrammable gate array or other suitable devices. A software system caninclude one or more objects, agents, threads, lines of code,subroutines, separate software applications, user-readable (source)code, machine-readable (object) code, two or more lines of code in twoor more corresponding software applications, databases, or othersuitable software architectures. In one exemplary embodiment, a softwaresystem can include one or more lines of code in a general purposesoftware application, such as an operating system, and one or more linesof code in a specific purpose software application. Alternatively, thefunctions of the server may be performed by a human user acting as afantasy commissioner for a fantasy contest, fantasy league, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a flowchart 200 of a method for playing afantasy football game is shown. The method may be implemented by aserver, wireless device, VoIP telephone, other advanced intelligencenetwork device, or any combination thereof, generally referred to hereinas the “device.” Alternatively, the method may be performed by a humanuser acting as a fantasy commissioner of a fantasy contest, fantasyleague, etc. While the illustrative embodiment employs the game offootball, it will be appreciated that this is for illustrative purposesonly and that any suitable event may be employed and remain within thescope of the present disclosure.

The method 200 begins with providing a list of football playersavailable to each user (step 202) from which each user may construct afantasy lineup. The list of players may include only players presentlyparticipating in the sport. For example, if the fantasy football gamewere played over the course of the NFL playoffs, only players on teamspresently in the playoffs may be provided. While the illustrativeembodiment provides a game played over the course of the NFL playoffs,it will be appreciated that the game may be played over anypre-determined period of time and remain within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

The fantasy lineups for each team may then be received (step 204)wherein each lineup comprises a plurality of players. In one embodiment,each lineup includes one quarterback, two running backs, two widereceivers, one tight end, one flex position, one kicker, and onedefense/special teams unit selected from the list of available players.The flex position may be selected from any other suitable position. Forexample, and without limitation, the flex may be an additional runningback, wide receiver, or tight end. However, it will be appreciated thatthe flex position may be selected from any other position and remainwithin the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, it will beappreciated that the lineup may be comprised with any suitable number ofplayers selected from any suitable position(s) and remain within thescope of the present disclosure. The device may also permit replacementplayers or replacement lineups as previously discussed.

Once the lineups have been received (step 204), statistical informationrelating to each one of the fantasy players is received or collected(step 205). The statistical information may be received or collectedfrom a statistical repository of an athletic league or a third-partysource of statistical information. The statistical information may beany suitable statistical information relevant to a fantasy game. Suchstatistical information may include, without limitation, passingyardage, rushing yardage, receiving yardage, touchdowns, safeties,sacks, turnovers, interceptions, fumbles, etc.

Once the statistical information is received (step 205), the score forthe lineup may be calculated (step 206). In calculating the score (step206), any suitable scoring system may be employed. In one illustrativescoring system, every 25 yards passing is assigned 1-point, every 10yards rushing or receiving is assigned 1-point, every touchdown isassigned 6-points, etc. It will, however, be appreciated that theforgoing scoring system is illustrative only and that any suitablescoring system may be employed and remain within the scope of thepresent disclosure. In one embodiment, the point totals for each playerare added together to calculate a fantasy team score for the given roundor period (e.g., week). The score calculations (step 206) may alsoinclude bonus scoring as previously discussed.

In one embodiment, the device may consider further input from one ormore users in calculating a score. For example, and without limitation,the device may permit a user to replace one player in the originallineup with a previously designated bench or replacement player, wherepoints for player from the original lineup are replaced by the pointsfor the bench or replacement player. As will be discussed further below,in one embodiment, the bench or replacement player may be unavailablefor use in a subsequent lineup. In another example, a user mayselectively “bench” a player from another user's lineup where theselected player does not accrue fantasy points for statistics obtainedduring predetermined amount of time in the real-time sporting event uponwhich the collected statistics and fantasy points are based. Forexample, and without limitation, a user may choose to “bench” thequarterback of another user's lineup for one-half of a real-timefootball game whereby the statistics accumulated by the quarterback areignored in calculating the quarterback's fantasy point total. It will beappreciated that the forgoing further input examples are illustrativeonly and not limiting in any way. Any other further input for thepurposes of calculating points is expressly considered herein. Further,it will be appreciated that the forgoing further inputs are optional andembodiments not employing such inputs are expressly considered herein.

Once the scores for a given round or period are calculated (step 206),the device may then determine if the game will include a subsequentround or period (step 208). If there will be a subsequent round orperiod, the device may remove any previously used player from the listof available players for each user (step 210). The device may thenprovide a list of players available to each user (step 202) and thepreviously described process repeated. Since each lineup is unique toeach user, the players removed from the list of available players (and,consequently, any subsequent list of available players) may be unique toeach user.

If the device determines there is no subsequent round (step 208), thescore from each period or round (from step 206) may be summed for eachuser (step 212). A winner may be determined based on who has the highestpoint total at the end of the game (step 214).

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with whatis considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it isunderstood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosedembodiments, but is intended to cover various arrangements includedwithin the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fantasy sports game device comprising: a memoryconfigured to store a set of instructions; and a processor configured toexecute the set of instructions, wherein the set of instructions causethe processor to: provide a first list of available players to eachindividual user, wherein each individual user selects a first fantasylineup, and wherein selection of a player by a first individual userdoes not preclude a second individual user from also selecting the sameplayer; receive the first fantasy lineup for each individual user for afantasy team from each individual user, the fantasy lineup comprisingone or more players selected from the first list of available players,provide a subsequent list of available players to each individual userat the end of a first predetermined interval, wherein the subsequentlist of available players for an individual user does not includeplayers from the received first fantasy lineup of the individual user;receive a subsequent fantasy lineup for the fantasy team from eachindividual user, the fantasy lineup comprising one or more playersselected from the subsequent list of available players, wherein none ofthe players of the first fantasy lineup for the individual user isincluded in any subsequent fantasy lineup of the individual user; anddetermine a winner at the end of at least one of the first predeterminedinterval or a second predetermined interval, wherein a server sendswinner information to a participant terminal.
 2. The device of claim 1wherein the first predetermined interval is weekly.
 3. The device ofclaim 1 wherein the first predetermined interval is less than weekly. 4.The device of claim 1 wherein the second predetermined interval isweekly.
 5. The device of claim 1 wherein the second predeterminedinterval is less than weekly.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein thefantasy team score total includes a bonus point system.
 7. The device ofclaim 6 wherein the bonus point system is based on a weighted average ofat least two bonus factors.
 8. A fantasy sports game device comprising:a memory configured to store a set of instructions; and a processorconfigured to execute the set of instructions, wherein the set ofinstructions cause the processor to: provide a first list of availableplayers to each user, wherein each user selects a first fantasy lineup,and wherein selection of a player by a first user does not preclude asecond user from also selecting the player; receive the first fantasylineup for each user for a fantasy team from each user, the fantasylineup comprising one or more players selected from the first list ofavailable players; provide a subsequent list of available players toeach user at the end of a predetermined interval, wherein the subsequentlist of available players for an individual user does not includeplayers from the received first fantasy lineup of the individual user;receive a subsequent fantasy lineup for the fantasy team from each user,the fantasy lineup comprising one or more players selected from thesubsequent list of available players, wherein none of the players of thefirst fantasy lineup for the individual user is included in anysubsequent fantasy lineup of the individual user; and determine a winnerat the end of a plurality of predetermined intervals, wherein a serversends winner information to a participant terminal.
 9. The device ofclaim 8 wherein the predetermined interval is weekly.
 10. The device ofclaim 8 wherein the predetermined interval is less than weekly.
 11. Thedevice of claim 8 wherein each user may register each of their fantasylineups in multiple leagues.
 12. A fantasy sports game devicecomprising: a memory configured to store a set of instructions; and aprocessor configured to execute the set of instructions, wherein the setof instructions cause the processor to: provide a list of availableplayers to each individual user, wherein each individual user selects afantasy lineup, and wherein selection of a player by a first individualuser does not preclude a second individual user from also selecting thesame player; receive the fantasy lineup for each individual user for afantasy team from each individual user, the fantasy lineup comprisingone or more players selected from the list of available players,determine a winner at the end of a single fantasy game, wherein a serversends winner information to a participant terminal.
 13. The device ofclaim 12 wherein the fantasy lineup is selectively registerable in aplurality of fantasy games.
 14. The device of claim 12 wherein thefantasy lineup is selectively registerable in a plurality of fantasyleagues.
 15. The device of claim 12 wherein the fantasy lineup from afirst individual user can selectively participate in a fantasy game witha second individual user.
 16. The device of claim 12 wherein the fantasylineup from a first individual user can selectively participate in afantasy league with a second individual user.
 17. The device of claim 12wherein any user may select a new fantasy lineup after completion of aninitial fantasy game.
 18. The device of claim 12 wherein a fantasy teamscore total includes a bonus point system based on a weighted average ofat least two bonus factors.
 19. The device of claim 12 wherein thesingle fantasy game has a weekly interval.
 20. The device of claim 12wherein the single fantasy game has an interval of less than a week.